Episode 30- the update in which I stand around and stare at strangers in orange flight suits
Well, even though 6:30 would be a little early for a normal day, since this is a Disney day, and our very last park day, I wanted to make it for rope drop and we needed to be up early anyway.
We got everything ready to go and were out the door at a really reasonable hour. This was our second bus experience, and I wanted to be sure to be at the bus stop early, just in case it took a while for our bus to arrive. Well, as luck would have it, the bus for DHS was pulling away just as we walked up to the bus stop. I did briefly think about running full speed around to the main bus stop to try and catch it, but decided it wasnt worth it. We would have been quite a site haulin though the Bayou!
Amazingly not five minutes after we were left by the first bus, a second DHS bus pulled up to the stop! I guess they must run extra buses in the morning, but either way, I wasnt about to look a gift bus in the mouth and jumped right on.
We made it to DHS before the official rope drop and were treated to the traditional Hollywood here we come! opening. I thought they would change it up since there is a new promotion, but it was pretty much the same as it has been for the past few years. We were part of the throng, but this morning I had a different objective than the masses foaming at the mouth for TSMM fastpasses.
Instead of following the pack to
Pixar Place, I broke a hard left, and headed right towards Star Tours. I wasnt the only one, there was definitely a Mom contingent that was intent on signing their kids up for the Jedi Training Academy, but there also was a select group of in the know individuals who gathered with me around the entrance to Star Tours.
When we rounded the bend, we found that there was a literal phalanx of CMs guarding the rope that blocked off the entrance to Star Tours. They were all dressed in the new costumes, and there must have been 15 of them.
Of course, I couldnt resist asking the 10 million dollar question
Me- Is there going to be a soft opening today?
Imposing CM- We dont know if the simulators will be operational today, but you can feel free to check back throughout the day and see if we are open - Hmmm
I should have known Id be fed the party line.
By this point a small minority of people had gathered outside of the ropes, and like all good Disney fans we quickly began to piece together the information at hand to come to a workable hypothesis.
Why would they have so many people working today, if they were not planning on opening, they must all be here for a reason
Yesterday they opened at ten- maybe they are waiting until then to open again today
Look at the CM in the back- I think he is holding a rope- maybe they are setting up the queue right now
OMG- the lights on the fastpass sign just turned on, that must be a good thing- right
Look over there- managers- they are entering the building in a group, that must mean they are going to open today
All this time we (the crazy fans) were lingering around the walkway, and they (the CM) were holding steady at the line. It really looked like some sort of West Side Story Disney fan battle would break out at any moment. I kinda felt bad for the CMs, that we were all just standing there staring at them like that.
Every once in a while one of the CM would encourage us to leave, to try another ride, and then come back. I dont think they realized what sort of rabid fans they were dealing with. That only made us MORE convinced that they were about to open RIGHT THEN, and they were trying to play some sort of Jedi mind trick on us.
Meanwhile, while I was having an exciting morning of standing around staring at strangers in orange flight suits, Mark had taken Everett out of the stroller and was letting him terrorize the upper level of the Backlot express.
At that point I did have a brief moment where I felt bad keeping Everett from rides, to satisfy my single-minded obsession with soft openings, but when I looked over at him , I realized that he was having the time of his life. He didnt need fancy rides or a playground, running pell mell around tables and chairs was just as awesome (maybe even more so) than watching a 3D movie (since he wont wear the glasses anyway) or riding the Great Movie Ride (not like hes ever watched a movie in its entirety). It was one of those moments when I realized that I dont need to stress out over a toddler having fun at Disney, hanging out with Mom and Dad, checking out some new turf, well, thats about as good as it gets for an 18 month old. No extra bells and whistles are needed.
After standing around for a good half hour, in which nothing really happened, DH let me know that it was time to move on, and we could come right back. I thought about it, and maybe he was right, we could run over and get fastpasses for Tower or Coaster, and then be back before 10 am (which was the rumored opening time swirling around the group of Disney crazies).
We made our way over to Sunset Blvd, and it was still really empty. I guess everyone was still battling it out over at Pixar Place. We picked up our fastpasses for Tower, and DH even talked me into the single rider line for Coaster. It was a walk on, and we would still make it back to Star Tours well before 10 am.
Dh rode first, and I snapped my latest Everett with e-ticket photo, and then I took my turn. I enjoyed coaster, it was great as always, but I was antsy to get back to Star Tours to see what was going on.
Everett with Coaster
view of Tower from the single rider line
Well, when we got back, the same people were still standing around, and there had been no perceptible changes. One of the guys hanging around told me that some more managers came in and then exited the building, but that was about it. I dont think police on a stake out could be any more thorough than a devoted Disney fan.
Right about this time the first Jedi Training academy was about to start up. We had never seen it before, so DH took Everett over to watch. I think that DH was dreaming about being up there fighting Darth Vader (sorry sweetie, kids only!), but if it kept him occupied and allowed to continue to stand and stare creepily at the Start Tours CMs, I was happy for the distraction.
When the show ended and there was still no movement at Star Tours (I mean, what is going on, the guy in the Goofy hat told me that a bus driver told him that it was DEFINITELY going to open at 10 am), DH was once again getting antsy. To appease him, I agreed to head over to Muppets, but only because it was close by and we could check again when we got out
.
Glad to hear you all are okay!
If there's something wrong with, then I'm a bad parent too.
It is a shame that Everett found the pool to be more entertaining than the playground though... And Huzzah for being able to sleep for an entire night!
